Keyakizaka46‘s “Kuroi Hitsuji” leaps to No. 1 on the latest Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 25 to March 3, with 745,566 copies sold in its first week.
The J-pop girl group’s eighth single leads physical sales, look-ups, and Twitter mentions this week, while also scoring high in downloads (No. 2), streaming (No. 5), radio airplay (No. 10), and video views (No. 18).
The group’s long-running hit “Ambivalent” topped downloads when it was released in August last year, but back number‘s “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” — at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week — prevented “Kuroi Hitsuji” from leading this metric. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” rules downloads for the second week with 82,945 units sold, more than double the figure for “Kuroi Hitsuji.”
Video views for “Kuroi Hitsuji” was 1,268,230 times this week, which is close to the first-week result for “Ambivalent” (1,208,717 times). Keyakizaka46 typically shows strength in the digital metrics as well as the physical, so depending on how the song is consumed online in the coming weeks, the girls could have another lasting hit in their hands.
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UVERworld‘s “Touch off,” the opener for the animated series The Promised Neverland, bows at No. 4 on the Japan Hot 100 after coming in at No. 3 for physical sales and look-ups, No. 4 for downloads, No. 11 for Twitter, No. 23 for radio, and No. 25 for streaming.
The six-member rock band’s previous single, “GOOD and EVIL,” debuted at No. 8 on the tally with 31,875 copies sold, which is about the same as the first-week result for “Touch off” (33,340 copies), but the current single scored more downloads this time around. The band has been releasing new songs at a steady pace, and the exposure through various media tie-ups has resulted in the growth of its fanbase.
King Gnu‘s “Hakujitsu” rises two notches to No. 7 this week after a marked increase in streaming. While still outside of the top 100, the up-and-coming rockers’ other songs are gaining traction on the chart thanks to streaming as well, signaling the group’s quickly growing popularity. The four-member band is already on its way to becoming one of this year’s breakout acts.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and audio streams from Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, AWA, Google Play Music, KKBOX, LINE MUSIC, Rakuten Music, RecMusic provided by Gfk Japan, streaming counts based on lyrics displayed on PetitLyrics, and karaoke data from Daiichikosho and XING.
Billboard Japan Hot 100 Top 10 (dated Feb. 25 to March 3)
1. [40] Kuroi Hitsuji / Keyakizaka46 (745,566 copies / 38,399 downloads / 1,540,613 streams)
2. [2] HAPPY BIRTHDAY / back number (32,066 copies / 82,945 downloads / none)
3. [3] Marigold / Aimyon (none / 19,561 downloads / 3,812,043 streams)
4. [-] Touch off / UVERworld (33,340 copies / 27,047 downloads / 734,605 streams)
5. [4] Lemon / Kenshi Yonezu (5,113 copies / 29,286 downloads / none)
6. [-] Sankaime no Date Shinwa / Tsubaki Factory (67,117 copies / none / none)
7. [9] Hakujitsu / King Gnu (none / 21,702 downloads / 2,310,521 streams)
8. [16] Kaerimichi wa Toomawari Shitakunaru / Nogizaka46 (31,171 copies / none / 756,923 streams)
9. [6] Konya Konomama / Aimyon (none / 5,022 downloads / 2,263,850 streams)
10. [96] THE GIFT / Dai Hirai (2,553 copies / 12,168 downloads / 573,425 streams)
[ ]: Position last week.
( ): Physical sales / downloads / streams (Top 50 only)